Who We Really Are
by free.song
Summary: Sometimes, the only thing to do was wonder why this always happened.  Prompt: family.


Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate SG-1, or any of it's characters.

Author's Note: For caitriona_3 at Lj, who sent the required amount of v-gifts in my help_japan charity fic auction.

* * *

"Keep it moving, Daniel," Sam encouraged, tightening the hold she had on him as he sagged a little more.

"Sam…Just go. I'm slowing us down," he responded tiredly, exhaustion apparent in the way his words slurred, and the pale tint of his skin. He stumbled, almost bringing them both down, but Sam managed to catch them in time, tugging him closer.

"Shut up, I'm not leaving you here," she snapped, pulling at him - gently, because she was pretty sure he had a concussion, and his ankle was already swollen in a way that suggested a bad sprain. "We just have to make it to the 'gate-"

"While out-running the natives, who want us dead," Daniel cut her off, and she sighed. He had a point, and she was well aware that the odds were against them, but there was no way she was leaving him behind. They didn't work like that, a fact which Daniel was very much aware of, and if their positions had been reversed, he'd be doing the same thing. "Jack and Teal'c really need to work on their timing," he breathed after a minute, all affectionate irritation, and Sam laughed because God, it was actually nice to hear him complaining.

"Well," she pointed out, ducking behind a tree at the sound of voices just ahead of them, "they were on the other side of the valley." There had been no reason to suspect the locals of anything, and she and Daniel had both been immersed in the technology, and language, respectively, when the subject of the naquadah mine had come up. It had been easier for the Colonel, and Teal'c to go, bored as they both had been up to that point. Honestly, Sam still wasn't sure what had happened; she just knew that one minute everything had been good, great, even, and then it had all gone to Hell. Now she and Daniel were trying to get to the 'gate, hoping the rest of their team would be there.

The voices were getting louder, chattering in the native language, and Sam looked at Daniel briefly, but he just shook his head, shrugging. More of the usual, then, and she nodded in response before peering around the tree cautiously. She held up three fingers for Daniel, indicating the number of men hunting them, and he shook his head immediately, holding up a hand with all five fingers splayed. Hunting parties of five, then. So where were the other two?

"Sam, -"

She whirled around, Daniel's Zat leveled at the spear-wielding warriors in front of them. It would do little good, she knew, with the five of them against she and Daniel, who was injured.

"Drop the weapon, Taur'I, and maybe we make this painless," the leader grunted, motioning to two of them to grab Daniel as Sam grit her teeth, and prepared to drop the Zat. She didn't, though, because the warrior closest to Daniel went down, sliding down the tree, clutching at his chest where the blast of a staff weapon had torn through him. It was chaotic, after that; Daniel grunted, and swiped a leg out at one of them, distracting them, and allowing Sam to move forward, firing the Zat once, even as the familiar sound of a gun firing announced the Colonel's presence. The last warrior went down when Teal'c swung the staff weapon at his head; the crack of bone snapping was loud in the aftermath, and they all just stood there for a moment, looking.

"What took you so long?" Leave it to Daniel to break the tension, and Sam ducked her head to hide her smile as Teal'c raised an eyebrow, and the Colonel rolled his eyes.

"Gee, I'm sorry Daniel, I didn't know we were on a schedule," he sniped, but there was worry in his eyes as he knelt, fussing over Daniel's ankle, and the very obvious concussion. "Next time we'll be sure speed things up a bit; maybe ask the nice, homicidal natives to hold off the head-hunt until we're ready, huh?"

"I do not think they would have listened this time, O'Neil," Teal'c put in, reaching down to haul a protesting Daniel to his feet while Jack moved back to study Sam.

"I'm fine," she told him, nodding at Daniel. "He got the worst of it." Which, really, seemed to be their usual story, and he just snorted, shaking his head.

"Alright, let's go. We need to get princess, here back home so Doc can take a look at him," he glanced at Daniel, somewhere between fond, and annoyed, and the archaeologist just held on to Teal'c as though the large Jaffa was all that was keeping him upright. He probably was, and Teal'c seemed to recognize that, gentle as he was being with their resident civilian. "Carter, take point," Jack ordered, nodding at her, and she moved forward, wary, and led them to the Stargate while Teal'c supported Daniel, and Jack watched their back.


End file.
